You hear a lot this time of year about acquiring the perfect  summer “Beach Body”, which makes it sound like you should hurry up and start cranking out those exhausting ten mile runs, or shop for the ingredients to make the perfect ten-calorie meal, none of which will give you the healthy results you want. In reality, achieving your healthiest physical form will result in higher confidence levels, more compliments, and better summer adventures than depriving your self on one hand and running yourself ragged on the other.

To this end, Traditional Chinese Medicine can help you achieve this goal.

Food

Luckily the days of fatty stews and pies are behind us, as no one wants to turn on the oven when it’s 105 degrees out. Eating healthy in the summer is so much easier with the multitude of seasonal fruits and vegetables out there to help you. Fresh corn, watermelon, cucumbers and strawberries are not only excellent ways to keep you full on a light calorie budget, but they are also excellent, pure nutrition to fuel your body, and useful cooling foods to help balance your Yin – an imbalance of which may leave you with a dry mouth, restless energy, and night sweats.

Herbs

Herbs are an excellent way to add bursts of flavor to your food, but did you know that Chinese herbs could also remove toxins from your liver, aid digestion, and improve your circulation? These are all processes that will assist in converting nutrition into the results you want. If your digestion is slow or your circulation is sluggish due to heat or inferior foods, it will show in your skin and on your face.

While individual supplements can be beneficial for isolated results, your best plan is to schedule an Herbal Consultation with your acupuncturist of herbalist and get a complete, custom formula specific to your needs and medical history.

Cupping

The goal of exercise is to get circulation deep into the muscles and joints of you body, to flush out the built up toxins, carbon dioxide, and lactic acid that makes you feel sore and tired, and to bring in fresh oxygen and nutrients to replenish muscles. Cupping – an ancient way to bring circulation to specific points on the body – is excellent for this. Pumping iron will definitely get your blood coursing through your body in a general way, but if your shoulder or spine is giving you trouble, pinpoint accuracy can only be achieved with cupping. As an added benefit, bringing the blood supply closer to the surface of the skin will also result in allover rosy, glowing skin. The kind you’ll definitely want to show off in that new swimsuit.

Acupuncture

Speaking of pinpoints, acupuncture can really bring all these treatments together like nothing else. The glowing sum of the foods you eat, the supplements you take, and the exercise and cupping regimens you follow regularly can only be emphasized by regular acupuncture treatment to keep your entire system flowing reliably. Regular acupuncture is like keeping a crystal river clear from build up and debris. As long as the pathways are clear, everything works to the best of its natural ability and looks stunning doing it.

And as long as you know you’re looking and feeling your best, Summer will be your best season yet.